When you start a company, one of the first steps you'll take is picking out a name for your business. While choosing a business name is an exciting task, it can also be one of the most important decisions you make. You'll need to select a name that's unique, marketable, and can be legally protected. Below are some common questions new owners have about business names.
No doubt you'll spend hours brainstorming for a business name that represents your products or services—a name that's both marketable and infused with personality. To help the creative process along, you might search the internet, browse the dictionary, read trade magazines, and bounce ideas off of friends and colleagues. But as you hunt for the perfect name, keep three main questions in mind:
Plus, if you're starting a corporation, limited liability company (LLC), or limited partnership, you must comply with a few state rules for naming your business.
You'll have to conduct a name and trademark search to make sure no one else is using the name you want to use (or a very similar name) to market similar products or services. You should also check with your county clerk's office to see whether your proposed name is already on the list of fictitious or assumed business names in your county. If you find that your chosen name (or a very similar one) is registered as a trademark, or is listed on a fictitious or assumed name register, you shouldn't use it.
If you're organizing your business as a corporation, LLC, or limited partnership, you must also make sure your business name isn't the same as that of an existing corporation, LLC, or limited partnership in your state. If a name that's identical or very similar to your proposed business name turns up in your state's database, you'll have to choose another.
Read Make Sure Your Proposed Business Name Is Available for instructions on how to do a thorough name and trademark search.
A trademark (sometimes called simply a "mark") is any word, phrase, design, or symbol used to market a product or service. Technically, a mark used to market a service, rather than a product, is called a "service mark." Though the term "trademark" is commonly used for both types of marks because they refer to the same group of legal protections.
Owners of trademarks have rights under both federal and state law that give them the power in many cases to prevent others from using the same or confusingly similar trademarks.
To make sure your proposed business name won't step on someone else's rights to an existing trademark, you'll have to do a trademark search. (Read Make Sure Your Proposed Business Name Is Available to learn how to do a trademark search.)
Also, when picking a business name, you should choose a name that'll be likely to receive trademark protection and then take steps to protect your business name as a trademark. To be protected as a trademark, the mark needs to:
In general, distinctive marks aren't generic or descriptive of the goods or services the mark represents. For example, you probably couldn't trademark "Produce Stand" for a stand selling fruits and vegetables because "Produce Stand" simply describes the goods. Instead, distinctive marks fall under three categories:
For more information on protecting your business name as a trademark, see our FAQ on filing a federal trademark application.
The legal name of a business is the official name of the person or entity that owns a business. If you're the only owner of your business (a sole proprietor), then its legal name is simply your full name.
If your business is a general partnership, and you have a written partnership agreement that gives a name to the partnership, then that name is the legal name of the business. Otherwise, the legal name of a general partnership usually consists of the last names of the owners.
States have different definitions of "legal name," especially for individuals. Your state might consider a sole proprietor's legal name as just their last name or their full first and last name. Make sure you check your state's laws for specific rules.
For limited partnerships, LLCs, corporations, and other registered businesses, the legal name of the business is the name registered with the state filing office.
Your business's legal name will be required on all government forms and applications. The legal name is particularly important to use on your application for a federal employer identification number.
If you plan to use a name that's different from your business's legal name, you'll need to register the name you want to use with a government agency. For more information, see our article on DBAs.
The term "fictitious business name" (or "assumed business name," "trade name," or "DBA" for "doing business as") is used when a business uses a name that's different from its legal name. For instance, if John O'Toole names his sole proprietorship Turtle's Classic Cars, the name "Turtle's Classic Cars" is a fictitious business name because it doesn't contain John's last name, "O'Toole."
If your business uses a fictitious business name, you'll need to register it with a government agency—in most states, your local county clerk's office.
The government likes to keep track of fictitious business names to give customers a quick way to determine the owner of a company, in case the customer has a complaint or needs to take legal action. But registering your fictitious name also helps business owners. If you used a fictitious name for your business but didn't register it, you yourself could get the raw end of some deals: You wouldn't be able to enforce any contract you signed under your business name. This requirement is in your own best interest, so don't be tempted to shrug it off.
For more information, read more about registering your business name.
As discussed earlier, a fictitious business name (DBA) is any business name that's different from its legal name. Generally, the legal name of a corporation, LLC, or other registered business entity is the name used on that company's formation paperwork. So, if you incorporated your business under the name "Four Star, Inc.," then your business's legal name would be "Four Star, Inc."
But states' laws differ as to what a person's "legal name" consists of. So, sole proprietors and general partnerships should pay special attention to their state's business name laws. In some states, a person's legal name, for DBA purposes, is their full first and last name. In other states, your legal name is only your last name or your last name plus the first initial of your first name. For partnerships, a business's legal name is usually the last names of the partners.
Californians should know that in their state, unlike most other states, you don't have to file a fictitious business name statement if your business name includes your last name, even though it doesn't include your first name. Under this rule, "F Smith Consulting," for example, wouldn't be considered "fictitious." (Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code § 17900 (2025).)
Using "F Smith Group" might pose a different problem, however. If your business name inaccurately suggests that others will co-own the company with you, you do need to file a fictitious business name statement. Someone could argue that "F Smith Group" sounds like you've got a whole group of co-owners by your side. The same goes for variations like "F Smith and Company," "F Smith and Sons," or "F Smith Associates."
Refer to your state's laws on legal names and DBAs to understand the specific rules for your business.
If you're starting a corporation, LLC, or limited partnership, your official business name will be automatically registered when you file your articles of incorporation, articles of organization, or statement of limited partnership with your state filing office. However, if you will sell products or services under a different name, you must also file a fictitious name statement (sometimes called an "assumed" name statement) with the state or county where your business is headquartered.
Other types of businesses may also have to comply with fictitious or assumed business name requirements. Generally, any business that doesn't use its legal name as part of its business name must file a fictitious name statement with a government agency, usually the county clerk's office.
You might also want to take advantage of the extra protection that registering your name as a trademark can give you. While it's not required, registering your name as a trademark at the state and/or federal level can prevent other businesses from using a name that's likely to be confused with your business name. For more information, see Filing a Federal Trademark Application FAQ.
Some people confuse choosing a business name with choosing a type of ownership structure, such as a corporation or limited liability company (LLC). But you can't just tack "Inc." or "LLC" onto the end of your business name and start calling yourself a corporation or LLC.
First you must form a corporation or LLC, and to do so, you've got to follow certain filing procedures to register the new type of company with your state. For more information on the various types of businesses, see Learn About Business Ownership Structures.
For step-by-step help in choosing and registering your business name, see The Small Business Start-Up Kit: A Step-by-Step Legal Guide, by Peri H. Pakroo (Nolo).
There's no one-size-fits-all formula for picking a great business name. The best name depends on a host of considerations -- some as obvious as the kind of business you do, others as unique as your own tastes and style. There are, however, a few guidelines that will steer you in the right direction. A good business name should: